Canadians are momma's boys - and girls: 71 per cent to celebrate Mother's Day while only 57 per cent will observe Father's Day

RetailMeNot.ca survey reveals shopping habits that show Canadians turn to e-greetings this year

TORONTO, May 1, 2014 /CNW/ - When it comes to Canadians honouring their parents, mom trumps dad. In fact, even Canada's birthday gets more consideration than dad, reported a new survey commissioned by digital coupon website RetailMeNot.ca. Seventy-one per cent of Canadian respondents aged 18 to 54 plan to celebrate Mother's Day while only 57 per cent will observe Father's Day, that's less than the 61 per cent who commemorate Canada Day.

Favouritism toward mom also shows up in spending plans, with 26 per cent reporting that they are likely to fork out more dough for mom than dad. The poll shows that there also doesn't seem to be much gender difference on who will spend more on mom, with males only slightly outspending females at 28 per cent versus 24 per cent. British Columbians are the most biased toward mom, with 38 per cent of respondents planning to spend more money on her gift. According to the survey, the top gift for mom this year is flowers, while a card ranks number one for dad.

The survey also revealed that Canadians are far more likely than their American counterparts to use technology to express their love for their parents. Almost half (48 per cent) of Canadians think it's acceptable to wish a Happy Mother's or Father's Day via text or email message. Americans are more traditional, with only 17 per cent saying it's okay to send mom or dad an e-greeting to mark the day.

When it comes to overall budgets, Canadians are being frugal this year. According to the survey, the majority of Canadians will spend $50 or less on gifts for Mother's Day and Father's Day (60 per cent and 63 per cent, respectively). Yet savvy spending is not on their radar, with only 12 per cent of respondents looking for a discounted or sale item when buying a gift for mom, followed by 10 per cent for dad. Only 20 per cent of those surveyed have ever gone online to make a purchase to celebrate their parents.

"These are important holidays for both moms and dads no matter the budget," said Christy Rabil, director of public relations for RetailMeNot, Inc. "Being a savvy consumer means being able to find the perfect gift at a great price."

Other survey findings:

Say it with flowers: The most popular gifts for mom include flowers (46 per cent), cards (39 per cent), meals (27 per cent) and gift cards (25 per cent);

Put it in writing: Top gifts for dads include a card (36 per cent), a meal (27 per cent), alcohol (18 per cent) and clothing (17 per cent);

Mom trumps Dad: Canadians and Americans are relatively equal when it comes to spending more on mom than dad (26 per cent versus 29 per cent, respectively);

Gift of food: 17 per cent of Canadians and 15 per cent of Americans believe that if they purchase a meal for their mom on Mother's Day they do not need to get her a gift.

The RetailMeNot Survey was conducted with The Omnibus Company between April 4 and April 11, 2014, among 1,075 U.S. residents ages 18 and over, with an oversample of 509 moms for Questions 6–10, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3 percentage points for the main survey and 4.3 percentage points for the oversample, from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.

About the Canadian survey:

From April 14 to April 15 2014, an online survey was conducted among 1,508 randomly selected Canadian adults age 18 and over who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5per cent, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to education, age, gender and region (and in Quebec language) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About RetailMeNot, Inc.

RetailMeNot, Inc. (www.retailmenot.com/corp/) operates the world's largest digital coupon marketplace. The company enables consumers across the globe to find hundreds of thousands of digital coupons from retailers and brands. In 2013, RetailMeNot, Inc. experienced more than 560 million visits to its websites and estimates that $3.5 billion in paid retailer sales were attributable to consumer traffic from digital coupons in its marketplace. Its mobile apps have been downloaded nearly 14 million times. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio includes www.RetailMeNot.com, the largest digital coupon marketplace in the United States; www.RetailMeNot.ca in Canada; www.VoucherCodes.co.uk, the largest digital coupon marketplace in the United Kingdom; www.Deals.com in Germany; www.Actiepagina.nl, a leading digital coupon site in the Netherlands; Bons-de-Reduction.com and www.Ma-Reduc.com, leading digital coupon sites in France; www.Poulpeo.com, a leading digital coupon site with cash back in France; and www.Deals2Buy.com, a leading discount offer site in North America. RetailMeNot, Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol "SALE." Investors interested in learning more about the company can visit: http://investor.retailmenot.com/.